1. Field of the Invention
The present invention relates to a felting machine for non-woven fabrics, of the type comprising, besides means for advancing the fabric, one or several boards provided with needles and an eccentric and connecting rod rise and fall mechanism to actuate this board with an alternating motion substantially vertical and perpendicular to the fabric in order to make the needles penetrate therein.
2. Description of the Prior Art
In known machines of this type, the eccentric/rod system generally operates in a transverse plane with respect to the advance of the fabric and the mechanism is advantageously fixed, to offer good stability, in a transverse box-beam. It results therefrom notably that access to the mechanism is difficult through the front or through the rear of the machine and necessitates the dismounting of at least one panel of the beam.
It is, if need be, possible to have access more conveniently to the mechanism through the top, but this possibility disappears if the machine punches from below. The mechanism is then in a bottom part and its access necessitates forming a pit beneath the machine.
Moreover, even if the machine ensures striking from above downwards, the supporting structure provided for the mechanism makes difficult access to the control members of the needle boards. This constitutes a severe constraint for the user, since by reason of the striking speed and the related balancing problems, these control members work under difficult conditions and require frequent overhaul, notably as regards the connecting rod mechanism.
It is an object of the present invention to provide a machine in which the mechanism, although fixed with all the solidity and stability desired, is easily accessible through the front or through the rear of the machine, without any dismounting.
It is another object of the invention, complementary to the preceding ones, to permit the production of a modular felting machine, that is to say adaptable without fundamental modification of the frame and of its appendages, for the execution of various types of felting for the same width of fabric.